Exclusive: Joni Ernst Pushes to Disarm IRS Before It Abuses Its Power and Targets ‘Hardworking Americans’

Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA) put forward legislation Tuesday to block the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) from using taxpayer funds to buy guns and ammunition and to take away the gun currently held by the IRS before they can used against the American people.

Her legislation, the Why Does the IRS Have Guns Act, would:

• Prohibit the IRS from buying, receiving, or storing guns and ammo,
• Transfer all guns and ammo currently in the IRS’s possession to the General Services Administration,
• Auction off these guns and ammo to Federal Firearms License owners and devote proceeds to deficit reduction, and
• Relocate the IRS Criminal Investigation Division within the Justice Department.

Ernst points to findings by the watchdog group Open the Books, which showed the IRS spent $35.2 million on guns, ammunition, and military-style equipment since 2006. Breitbart News reported on figures from Open the Books which showed the IRS spent $10 million on guns, ammo, and equipment since 2020 alone.

Ernst spoke with Breitbart News about her push to end the IRS’s spending splurge on guns, ammo, and military equipment, saying:

It’s concerning how the Biden administration has worked to expand the size of the IRS, and even more concerning that the IRS is using taxpayer dollars to arms its agents. I’m working to disarm the IRS to prevent any further weaponization of this federal agency.

She added, “My bill would transfer these guns out of the IRS’ possession to ensure it does not abuse its power to target hardworking Americans.”

AWR Hawkins is an award-winning Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News and the writer/curator of Down Range with AWR Hawkins, a weekly newsletter focused on all things Second Amendment, also for Breitbart News. He is the political analyst for Armed American Radio and a Turning Point USA Ambassador. He was a Visiting Fellow at the Russell Kirk Center for Cultural Renewal in 2010, a speaker at the 2023 Western Conservative Summit, and he holds a Ph.D. in Military History, with a focus on the Vietnam War (brown water navy), U.S. Navy since Inception, the Civil War, and Early Modern Europe. Follow him on Instagram: @awr_hawkins. You can sign up to get Down Range at breitbart.com/downrange. Reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart.com.